Mar 3, 2011
Life is busy – that’s just the way it is.
We all have so many things to do – so much to keep track of on a daily basis. Many of us tend to be overscheduled, overworked, and overexhausted. We’re just trying to make it all work – make sure we keep up with everything – make sure things don’t unravel.
In a perfect world, there would be a 25th hour every day just so we could rest, take care of ourselves, rejuvenate, relax, and unwind.
But that’s not obviously not going to happen.
This may seem counterintuitive, but taking time for ourselves each day will actually free up more time. It’s true!
When we don’t put fuel in our own tanks, we run around on just fumes – which will eventually run out. By simply taking some time each day to refuel, we will have so much more energy for our family, our job, and our daily lives than before.
Don’t you feel so much better after you pamper yourself a little bit – read a book, watch your favorite show, meditate, exercise, take a long bath, etc.?
We forget sometimes that we are the most important part of any “to do” list. If we aren’t recharged, the list has no chance of getting checked off anyway!
Take some time today to write a Self Care List.
List all of the wonderful things that you can do to pamper yourself.
It can range from small things (such as baking your favorite cookies and eating them while reading a great book) to large things (such as taking a beach trip for a weekend of relaxation).
Once you have your list, put it up somewhere where you will see it frequently. And make sure to do at least one thing on your list each day. Even if it’s just for a few minutes.
I promise you will feel so much better – more recharged – and better able to be an active, vibrant participant in your own life.
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Feb 27, 2011
I thought it would be fun to post questions/writing prompts from our Soulful Journals from time to time.
A question from our
Journaling Within book is up first!
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Really take some time to think about this and then write what words come up.
If you would like to take it a step further, write about how you feel about these words.
Did any surprise you?
Are there any that you are proud of?
Are there any that you would like to change?
Would you want to be friends with someone who had these traits?
Have
More
Feb 24, 2011
This is a really important (and sometimes really hard) question to answer.
In an ideal world, we are living for ourselves and only doing things that make us feel great and are on our authentic path.
But…it doesn’t always work this way. It’s normal to want to please others. It’s normal to want to be liked. But ask yourself at what expense are you willing to sacrifice your own wants and desires to fit in.
Think of how you live and the decisions you have made and continue to make.
Are you making them based on what you think people will want or expect you to do?
Are you making them because someone else’s voice (a parent, a spouse, a friend) is inside of you directing how you live?
Are you making them because you don’t want to upset anyone?
Are you making them because that’s how you’ve always done it?
And now think about how you want to live. The answers are always within us if we just take the time to listen.
As the answers come to you, write them down. And as you write them down, make sure that it is your authentic voice coming up with the answers. This is an exercise that you can keep coming back to with every part of your life – every decision, every action you make, every second of how you live your day.
Make sure you are living YOUR life – whatever that means for YOU.
There may be friction…
Sometimes when you start coming into your own power – your own authentic self – the self you know you were meant to be – friction occurs with those around you. When someone we love changes, it can sometimes be seen as threatening. It can bring up emotions, fears, and questions about our own life. This is why so many people resist it and why so many of us live lives that we know aren’t our best lives – comfortable, “I’m not rocking the boat” lives. And through this process of finding your own voice, you may have to let go of the voices you have carried within you – and this may mean letting go just in your mind or letting go of that person in reality as well.
Sometimes the perceived friction is only in our heads…
We all know how active our imaginations can be. When we are consciously deciding to live our best lives, we can start imagining how rocking the boat will lead to anger, disconnect, and complete withdrawal from those we love. We just know they won’t support us or understand this new person we are becoming. We get ourselves all worked up just thinking about showing them our authentic self. We are so afraid we won’t be accepted. And sometimes we aren’t. But more often than not, our loved ones completely support us and are completely okay with our changes. And we wonder why we were so worked up about it in the first place.
Showing ourselves and the world who we really are can More
Feb 23, 2011
This is a continuation of yesterday’s post where I talked about how we create our life with our thoughts. In this post I focus on our beliefs about our own worth.
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It all comes down to our thoughts, our beliefs about ourselves, and our self worth.
To give an example – imagine you are looking for a life partner. All you have ever wanted in life is to find someone who loves you for you – who appreciates you – who cares about you – and who would give anything to be with you. You know you deserve this.
And yet…the partners you actually end up with are afraid of commitment, treat you horribly, don’t appreciate you, and don’t More
Feb 17, 2011
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When you look at yourself in the mirror, do you know and like who you see?
Is there anything that you aren’t being truly honest about with yourself or others?
Is the “you” that you represent to the world the “you” that you really are?
I thought it was interesting the other day when a friend posted on Facebook that they sure hoped they could live up to their profile there.
In one of his stand-up routines, Chris Rock talks about dating and how we tend to send our representative to make a great impression.
While these are funny concepts – they are also very true. We all want to be liked. We all want to please others.
Sometimes to live an authentic life, we have to rock the boat. We have to stir things up a bit. And change isn’t More
